


Aftermath

by Guardian_of_Hope



Series: Time Shenanigans [2]
Category: Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Family, Found Family, Gen, fixing it, i had a vision
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-30
Updated: 2017-05-30
Packaged: 2018-11-06 18:55:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11042229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guardian_of_Hope/pseuds/Guardian_of_Hope
Summary: In the wake of a mission to Corellia, Anakin finds things around the temple have changed.  A Lot.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally posted on Tumblr, reposted here for your enjoyment.

Anakin was pretty sure that getting injured wasn’t supposed to end up like this.  He was lying on his stomach, trying to do some of his coursework, but Master Mundi had come by and talked to him about philosophy.  Then, Master Obi-Wan had come in and asked him about his dreams, looking very off balanced.  He’d stared at Anakin’s face in the most unnerving manner until Anakin had asked if something was wrong.  Master Obi-Wan had denied it, but there had been something in his eyes when he walked away that left Anakin feeling unsettled.

“Padawan Skywalker.”

Anakin jumped, then yelped as he jarred the blaster burn that ran from the small of his back to his thigh.

“Are you all right?”  Master Windu asked.

“Fine,” Anakin gritted out, “Just moved wrong.”

Master Windu brought a chair around to where he could see Anakin’s face.  He looked, odd.  Almost like he’d tried something really strange, and he wasn’t sure he liked it yet.

“Knight Kenobi gave his report to the Council earlier,” Master Windu said.

Anakin bit his lip, forcing himself not to say something to Master Windu, because really?  It was bad enough he was in the infirmary, but now he was going to get yelled at too.

“He told us how you were injured,” Master Windu said.  He held up his hand, “I won’t deny that it was a reckless move, but you did it to save those children.  That, that was well done.”

Anakin wondered just what painkillers he’d been given to hallucinate that Master Windu had given _him_ a complement.

“Thank you, Master,” Anakin managed finally, realizing what Master Windu was waiting for.  He glanced up at the Master and wondered at the look on his face.  It wasn’t something he’d ever seen before.

“If you’d like,” Master Windu continued, “I happen to know a trick that will help you cover better if you happen to end up in that position.  I’d be happy to teach it to you when the Healers clear you.”

“Really?”  Anakin asked.  He knew Master Obi-Wan sparred with Master Windu, but he’d never even been invited to observe.

“Really,” Master Windu said.

“Thank you Master,” Anakin said, “I look forward to the instruction.  It’s an honor.”

Master Windu stood and put his hand on Anakin’s shoulder, “I’m pretty sure the honor is mine, Padawan Skywalker.”

Anakin watched him leave, then looked back at his coursework, wondering just how he was supposed to work on it now.


	2. Chapter 2

The weirdness didn’t stop when Anakin left the infirmary.  Besides the assistance he needed from Master Obi-Wan in dealing with the injury, Knight Quinlan Vos had developed a habit of appearing at the corner of his eye in public spaces.  He never _said_ anything but he looked at Anakin like he was a new target for his hunts.

And then there was Master Plo Koon.  Just after Anakin was cleared to begin practicing basic lightsaber forms, Master Koon came into the training room he was using, trailed by a Togruta youngling.

“Padawan Skywalker,” Master Koon said.

Anakin turned off his lightsaber and bowed, “Master Koon.”

“I was wondering if you would assist me,” Master Koon said.

“If it is within my ability, I am always ready to assist,” Anakin said.

“This youngling is Ahsoka Tano.  Ahsoka needs some help with her Soresu forms.  I was wondering if you would assist me in helping her.”  Master Koon said, a hand dropping to rest on the Togruta’s shoulder.

Anakin bowed slightly, “I would be honored sir.  I’m still on restrictions, so nothing too strenuous.”

“Of course,” Master Koon said.  “Little ‘Soka, this is Anakin Skywalker.  Do you have time to start now?”

Anakin glanced at the time piece over the door, “I have half an hour before I really need to clean up and get to class.”

“All right,” Master Koon said.

Anakin offered his hand to Ahsoka, “Hi.”

Ahsoka smiled at him, “Hi.”

“So, what kind of trouble are you having?  May I see?”  Anakin asked after a moment as Master Koon backed away.

“Sure,” Ahsoka said, she picked up her lightsaber and turned it on, in a reverse grip.

“Whoa,” Anakin said, “Are you comfortable working the ‘saber that way?  It doesn’t hurt your wrist or anything, does it?”

“No,” Ahsoka said, surprised.

“Okay,” Anakin said, “I’ve not done much reverse grip work, but I’m willing to try.  Let’s do a kata, for warm up.”

“Okay,” Ahsoka said.

Working with Ahsoka under Master Koon’s eye was fun.  Once she got over her quiet side, they were well matched in attitude, although Anakin couldn’t quite get over Ahsoka’s preference for a reverse grip.

When the hour was up, Master Koon actually put his hand on Anakin’s shoulder and praised him.  Not excessively, but in a way, that felt good, natural even.  He smiled at the Kel Dor Master and thanked him before running to shower and get to class.


	3. Chapter 3

They were on Ansion when the dreams changed.  Anakin had told Obi-Wan about his dreams of his mother when they first showed up, but Obi-Wan had simply asked to know when they became full of death and pain.  As soon as he dreamed of his mother crying and asking for him, hurting, Anakin reported it to Obi-Wan, knowing that they had a border dispute to settle.

Obi-Wan frowned, “They just changed last night?”

“Yes Master,” Anakin said, “they’ve become more frequent, but last night was the first night she was in pain.”

Obi-Wan muttered something Anakin was required, by no less than three Council members, to pretend he couldn’t hear.

“All right, let’s wrap this up then,” Obi-Wan said.

“What?”  Anakin asked.

“We need to get this wrapped up so that we can go to Tatooine and check on your mother,” Obi-Wan said calmly.

Two years since that mission on Corellia after which everything had changed, Anakin still wasn’t used to all the changes.  Especially ones like this, where he expected a lecture on attachment instead of an offer of help.

“What can I do?”  Anakin made himself ask.

“Just stay with me,” Obi-Wan said, “I think I can wrap this up today.”

Anakin bowed, “Yes Master.”

They headed in to meet with the leaders on Ansion, and Anakin stepped back to observe.  This was Obi-Wan in his element, speaking to both sides, smoothing over tempers, and not using the Force at all.  Anakin couldn’t read people the way Obi-Wan did, but he could admire what he saw his Master doing.

With a time limit, Obi-Wan had the border dispute settled before anyone could start making a noise about breaking for lunch, a fact that had Obi-Wan sitting back with a pleased smile.  While Obi-Wan made their excuses to the leaders of Ansion, Anakin returned to their room and paced everything up to prepare for their departure.

It wasn’t until they were on their way to Tatooine before Anakin decide to ask.

“Master,” he said, turning to face Obi-Wan.

“Padawan,” Obi-Wan replied.

Anakin swallowed, “Why were you so agreeable about seeing my mother?  When I spoke of her before, you always lectured me on attachment.”

Obi-Wan sighed, “You’re finally asking.”  He tilted his head, “I told Mace you’d ask at some point.”  He turned and reached over to rest his hand on Anakin’s knee, “It’s like this, Anakin.  Do you remember the Corellian mission two years ago?”

“Yes,” Anakin replied.

“While we were on Corellia, the Temple had a pair of… visitors.”  Obi-Wan said, “They had been brought from the future to our time.”

“The future,” Anakin said.

“One of them was you,” Obi-Wan said.  “The other was a man named Rex, a Captain of some military group.

“Me, from the future,” Anakin said.

“Let me show you,” Obi-Wan said, holding out his hand.

Anakin took Obi-Wan’s hand and the memory formed of an older him, with a scar on his face and something in his eyes, begging Obi-Wan to help his mom, because he regretted what he’d done when she’d died.

“I don’t understand,” Anakin said as the memory faded back.

“We don’t know much,” Obi-Wan said, “but we know he was about two years older than you are now, and Rex had brothers, also military.  He called all of us General, and used Mandalorian words.”  Obi-Wan paused, “He also apparently gave Mace a dressing down about how he treated you that affected Mace profoundly.

“So that’s why,” Anakin murmured.

“Indeed,” Obi-Wan replied.

“So, me from the future showed up with someone to defend my honor and all of the sudden every treats me differently,” Anakin said.

“Properly,” Obi-Wan replied.  “We’re treating you the way we should have from the beginning.  Even I had to rethink some things.  Anakin, Qui-Gon Jinn was not a perfect Jedi.  I know I’ve told you stories about him on occasion, but there is one I didn’t tell you.”

“Okay,” Anakin said slowly.

“Qui-Gon taught three Padawans,” Obi-Wan said, “Master Feemor was his first, an orphaned Padawan he finished training. Feemor is currently working with some of the teams trying to fix the separatist crisis.  Qui-Gon’s second, however, was Xanatos.  You may have heard of him, he was a Dark Jedi.  Qui-Gon was instructed to take Xanatos on a mission to his homeworld of Telos to deal with political issues there, issues related to Xanatos’s father.  If he had made it through the mission, he was to be knighted.”

“He Fell,” Anakin said.

“Yes,” Obi-Wan replied.  “Qui-Gon swore he’d never take another Padawan after Xanatos, and for a time the Council allowed it.”  He hesitated a long moment, “He rejected me at first, you see.  I was almost thirteen, and desperately angry and I got in a fight, so they sent me to Bandomeer to join the AgriCorps.  Qui-Gon was going there to learn about what was going on with Offworld, a company owned by Xanatos.”

Anakin resettled himself slightly as Obi-Wan spoke, telling him a story he’d never heard in full.  It was fascinating to hear about this side of his Master.

“Master Yoda told me once that Dooku was a cold man, emotionally, that he preferred to reserve praise and allow it to come back to Qui-Gon through other means.  Qui-Gon struggled not to do that with Feemor and Xanatos, but with me, sometimes he was generous with his praise, helping me to do better.  Other times, I couldn’t hear a nice thing for months.”  Obi-Wan hesitated, “I hadn’t realized it, but I was doing the same to you.  It was seeing who you’d become that made me realize it, especially when Master Koon shared some of his experiences.  I was wrong, Anakin, and I’m sorry.”


	4. Chapter 4

Tatooine is the same as Anakin remembers, hot, dry, and sandy.  He barely makes it three strides from the ship before he can feel sand rubbing between his collar and his neck.  They were able to get the information about Shmi’s new situation from Watto with little effort, the Toydarian was surprisingly happy to see Anakin again after so long.

The Lars homestead looking like every other moisture farm Anakin had ever seen, those times when Watto had sent him and Shmi on an errand across the desert.  They settled carefully outside the inner compound, and by the time they’d fully left the ship, a man and woman were already coming to meet them.

“This is the Lars Homestead,” Obi-Wan asked as they came in easy speaking distance.

“That’s right,” the man said, “I’m Owen Lars, this is my partner Beru Whitesun.”

“I’m Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, and this is my Padawan, Anakin Skywalker.  We’re looking for Shmi Skywalker, or failing that Cliegg Lars.”

“You’re Ani?”  Beru said, clearly surprised.  When everyone looked at her, she blushed, I’m sorry, it’s just, Shmi always spoke of you as if you were younger.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her,” Anakin replied.

“Shmi isn’t here, and neither is my father,” Owen said abruptly.

“Will they be back soon?”  Obi-wan asked.

“We hope so,” Owen said, “Shmi’s been captured by Tusken Raiders, Father is with some of the local men looking for her.”

Obi-Wan glanced at Anakin, sensing Anakin’s sudden fear.

“Why don’t you come inside and we’ll tell you what we know,” Beru offered.

“Of course,” Obi-Wan said, “thank you”

Anakin kept himself on Obi-Wan’s heels, trusting his master in this matter because he honestly didn’t know what to do with himself.  He felt like he was flying outwards in all directions, vibrating with the need to go.  All that held him still was the knowledge that he didn’t know _where._   He could barely hear what Beru and Owen were telling Obi-Wan, calling on the Force for reassurance.

“Let’s go,” Obi-Wan said, touching Anakin’s arm to catch his attention.

Anakin nodded and followed Obi-Wan outside.  “Where are we going?”

“Back to the ship to scan for life forms,” Obi-Wan said.  “They weren’t sure where, but the tracks suggest into the Jundland Wastes.  We’ll use the ship to hunt.”

“All right,” Anakin said.  “I feel like I’m going to vibrate to pieces.”

Obi-Wan hummed a moment, “Then I will handle the technical part, you should meditate, see if there is a direction the Force is insistent upon.”

“Yes Master,” Anakin said.

He wasn’t sure he’d be able to actually meditate, but as soon as he settled in the cockpit behind the pilot’s chare, he found himself falling into those painful, familiar patterns.  For a long moment, the all he could feel was the burning presence of the Force that always greeted him in meditation, but his sheer need radiated out and the Force shifted.  It became less painful in some ways, and his awareness of the world increased.  He could feel the ship moving, heading in the direction that felt _right._

“This feels right,” he made himself say.

“Let me know if I make a wrong turn,” Obi-Wan replied.

Master Koon had tried to teach Anakin how to track this way, assisted by a Weequay Jedi Master named Honso.  It had been difficult to learn, given the academic nature of the practice, but Master Honso, and his Padawan, Kara Saje, had both seemed optimistic that he could do it in a real world situation.  Kara had told him point blank that if Obi-Wan’s style of negotiation and disaster didn’t fit, he should consider Judicial as an alternative.

Remembering their voices, and the circumstances of the teaching, made it easier for Anakin to fall into the mindset of tracking this way.  He _knew_ what his mother felt like in the Force, had spent ten years basking in her presence like a flower to the sun.  Sweeping the sparsely populated desert for his mother was like the old walk home, although without buying anything on the way.

Then he had her, in pain and terrified, but _there_ , “Found her, Master.  Straight ahead.  She’s in pain.”

“We’ll save her Anakin,” Obi-Wan said calmly as the ship began to move subtly faster.

Anakin pulled himself out of his tracking meditation and rose up to sit in the co-pilot’s seat.

The camp was easily located, set into a canyon that gave it a modicum of protection against the winds, and allowed them to set down unnoticed. 

“Your job is to get your mother out,” Obi-Wan said, “let me worry about the Raiders.”

“Yes Master,” Anakin said.

They evaded the sentries easily, coming up behind the tent where Shmi’s presence radiated outward like a beacon.  Anakin cut his way in and found Shmi tied to a frame in the center of the room. 

“Mom,” he hissed as he scrambled around in front of her.

“Who, Ani?”  Shmi said weakly as Anakin cupped her face.

“I’m here,” Anakin said, “we’ll get you home.”

Their escape wasn’t easy, they were spotted before Anakin could fully leave the tent, but he knew Obi-Wan, and Obi-Wan’s skills were enough to carry the day.  Anakin was free to carry his mother to the ship while Obi-Wan protected them.

Once there, they traded off, Anakin getting them in the air while Obi-Wan tended Shmi’s wounds.

“I’m going to see if I can find the searchers,” Anakin called back, “turn them back to the homestead.”

“All right,” Obi-Wan replied.

Anakin scanned the sensors, reaching out with the Force at the same time, tracking for the small group of farmers hunting for a missing woman.  It was actually easy to find them, and Anakin set down near their camp with a light touch.  By the time he’d reached the bottom of the ramp, two men armed with blasters had come forward.

“My name is Anakin Skywalker,” he said, “I’m looking for Cliegg Lars.”

“I’m Cliegg,” one of the pair said, “You’re Shmi’s boy?”

“Yes sir,” Anakin said with a bow.  “My Master and I, the Force warned us so we came to find my mother.”

“Not the usual thing for a Jedi,” Cliegg said.

“The Force wills,” Anakin replied, he moved to one side, “Mother’s onboard.  We rescued her.”

“Shmi’s safe?”  Cliegg said.

“She’s resting comfortably,” Obi-Wan announced as he came up behind Anakin, “she is injured, but she’ll heal well.  I’m Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin’s Jedi Master.”

“Thought Jinn was,” Cliegg said.

Anakin and Obi-Wan exchanged a look, “Master Jinn died shortly after Anakin was accepted at the Temple, I chose to offer to teach Anakin after that.  Would you care to come onboard and see Shmi?”


End file.
